Principal Investigator: Patricia Cleary, M.S.

GOKIND Home Page

he Coordinating Center is viewed as a long-term collection and distribution resource for the diabetes research community, and will play an important role in support of research targeted at finding a cure for Type 1 diabetes and its complications. Coordinating Center studies will assemble, maintain, and distribute samples and information from populations that may be used to study the genetics of Type 1 diabetes.

he first project of the Coordinating Center is a collaboration with the Diabetes UK (previously known as the British diabetic Association, BDA) on the study of the genetics of susceptibility to diabetic nephropathy. This study is called The Genetics of Kidneys in Diabetes, or GOKIND, Study.

he risk of kidney complications in type 1 diabetes appears to have a considerable genetic component. This study will assemble a large data resource for researchers attempting to identify causative genetic variants. The types of data being collected will allow traditional case-control testing, a rapid and often powerful approach, and family-based analysis, a robust approach that is not influenced by population substructure.

n total, 600 case trios, 500 control trios, 500 singleton cases and 500 singleton controls will be collected. Half of the samples will be collected at the Joslin Diabetes Center and the other half will be collected from around the country by researchers at The George Washington University. DNA samples will be processed by scientists at the University of Minnesota and stored at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Stored samples will be made available to the research community through a mechanism to be determined by JDF. Clinical characteristics of patients, which will be stored in a central database, will also be made available to participating scientists. A similar collection is being carried out in the United Kingdom.

e anticipate collecting the specified number of samples within a three year period, at which time qualified researchers will be allowed to access samples. The JDF may also consider making a portion of the samples available at an earlier point in time.

iabetic nephropathy is a major concern in type 1 diabetes. Those afflicted with end-stage renal disease often face dialysis or renal transplant. Mortality among this group is also high. This data resource will allow researchers to test hypotheses that might explain why diabetic kidney disease clusters in families. This resource will also be suitable for studying other complications and type 1 diabetes itself. For example, a total of 1,110 diabetes case trios will be available at the end of three years.